New Delhi: A former Congress minister in Rajiv Gandhi government and the Tamil Nadu BJP president are among the five new governors that President Ram Nath Kovind Sunday appointed to the states of Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala and Telangana following the completion of tenures of their respective predecessors.
No announcement, however, of lieutenant governors or administrators was made for the newly-formed union territories of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh.
Arif Mohammad Khan, who quit BJP in 2007 just three years after joining the party in protest over the distribution of tickets to “tainted leaders” in Uttar Pradesh was appointed the governor of Kerala. He will take over from P. Sathasivam, the former chief justice of India.
Khan, once with the Congress, first made headlines in 1986 when he resigned from the then Rajiv Gandhi government over its stand in the Shah Bano case. After quitting the Congress, Khan had joined the Janata Dal only to jump ship again and join the BSP. He joined BJP in 2004.
Bandaru Dattatreya, who served as labour minister in Narendra Modi government during its first term before stepping down in 2017, was appointed Himachal Pradesh governor in place of Kalraj Mishra, who has been appointed as Rajasthan governor.
Dattatreya’s tenure as labour minister had generated controversy when in 2016 he was accused of abetting the suicide of Hyderabad University student Rohith Vemula.
Kalraj Mishra, the Himachal Pradesh governor was transferred as Rajasthan governor in place of Kalyan Singh, whose term has ended.
Singh, former Uttar Pradesh chief minister took charge as Rajasthan governor on 4 September 2014. The BJP leader has served twice as the CM of India’s most populous state. It was under his tenure as CM that the Babri Masjid was demolished on December 6, 1992. Singh resigned taking moral responsibility for the events that unfolded on December 6 leading to the demolition.
Also read: Arif Mohammad Khan, you are still in 1986, your views on secularism & Muslims are outdated
TN BJP chief is Telangana governor
Former Uttarakhand chief minister Bhagat Singh Koshyari was appointed the governor of Maharashtra in place of Vidyasagar Rao. Rao was sworn in as Maharashtra governor on August 2014. He was a BJP leader from Telangana and has served as minister of state in the Vajpayee government.
Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan, the BJP president of Tamil Nadu, was appointed Governor of Telangana in place of ESL Narasimhan.
Narasimhan was sworn in as Telangana governor on June 2, 2014. A former director of the Intelligence Bureau, Narasimhan was already serving his second term as Andhra Pradesh governor in 2014 when he assumed charge as Telangana governor as well following the bifurcation of the erstwhile state. He has also served as Chhattisgarh governor between 2007 and 2009.
Also read: No room for Tamil Nadu & Andhra Pradesh in PM Modi’s council of 57 ministers